


Darlings of Mine

by Avengerz



Series: Family 'Verse [1]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Black Panther (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dad!T'Challa, Dad!Tony, Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kid!Fic, M/M, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-15 21:59:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7240087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avengerz/pseuds/Avengerz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a prompt on <a href="http://imagineironpanther.tumblr.com">ImagineIronPanther</a>: "An already married Tony and T'Challa with kids?"</p><p> </p><p>  <i>The crying quiets, though it doesn’t stop altogether, and Tony can see it in his mind’s eye: T’Challa walking back and forth in the nursery, cradling their daughter and attempting to soothe her back to sleep.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Darlings of Mine

A wail from the children's suite wakes them. Tony cracks an eye open to glare at the monitor on the bedside table, but the screaming continues, undaunted. He hates it, of course, hates to hear his children cry, feels it tear into his heart to hear them in pain, but he also really hates being woken by a baby when he’s still adjusting from a seven hour time zone difference. Tony had only visited New York for a week-long conference, but apparently it was long enough to screw up his sleep schedule.

There’s a light brush of lips on his bare shoulder as his husband shifts in the bed. “I’ve got it, _ikatana_. Go back to sleep.” Tony is too exhausted to even pretend to protest, so he just nods sleepily as T’Challa slips out from underneath the covers.

He hears the murmur of voices as T’Challa says something to the Dora Mijale warrior stationed in the hallway before his husband’s footsteps lead him into the kids’ room. Tony lets his eyes slip shut as he hears T’Challa’s soothing voice and the rustle of him picking the baby up through the monitor. The crying quiets, though it doesn’t quite disappear, and Tony can see it in his mind’s eye: T’Challa walking back and forth in the nursery, cradling their daughter and attempting to sooth her back to sleep.

Tony tries to fall back asleep, but the crying doesn’t dissipate even as he hears T’Challa offer a bottle of formula. After several minutes, Tony resigns himself to his fate and drags himself out of bed. He nods an absent hello to Manyara as he pads past her in his dressing gown, and she smiles as she dips her head in respect.

“Calm, please, Adannaya,” Tony hears through the cracked door as he approaches the nursery. “ _Uyihlo_ is trying to sleep.” Unfortunately, six-month-old babies don’t care much one way or another if their father is trying to sleep, and Adannaya continues to wail.

Tony steps through the door, and T’Challa turns to frown at him. “You’re meant to be sleeping,” he says, gently chiding, and Tony shrugs.

“Kind of hard to when Ada here is so determined to be heard.” Tony crosses to his husband and gently takes the baby from him. There was a time that this would have terrified him. Tony had spent years convinced that he would be a horrible father, incapable of being anything else with his self-destructive habits and his own less-than-stellar upbringing. But now, with seven years of marriage and two other adoptions under his belt, Tony doesn’t even think about it as he cradles his daughter close to his chest.

“Hey, baby girl,” he coos down at the wailing infant. “You’re pretty upset, aren’tcha? Papa already changed your diaper and fed you, what’s wrong?” Ada’s cries drop a few decimals as she blinks up at him. Tony’s heart melts under the force of those big brown eyes, as it always does. He wiggles a finger over her face, lets her grab it and pull it into her mouth. “There you go,” he murmurs as she subsides into the occasional whimper. “Gonna let daddy get some sleep before his demonstration tomorrow?” Ada gums his finger and Tony takes that a yes.

T’Challa steps up behind him and hooks his chin over Tony’s shoulder to look down at their daughter. “She always behaves when you’re around,” he says, amused, and Tony turns his head to grin at him.

“That’s because I’m the best.” T’Challa chuckles and presses a kiss to his temple.

“ _Tata_?” T’Challa lets go of Tony (a tragedy) to turn towards the doorway, where a small figure is outlined against a brightly-lit bedroom.

“Nuru,” T’Challa says on a sigh. “I’m sorry, _isithandwa_ , did we wake you?” She nods somberly, and T’Challa holds out a hand towards her. Four is too old to be held like a baby, Nuru’s informed them, but holding hands is still acceptable. She shuffles across the carpet to grab it.

“Is Ada sad because she missed you, daddy?” she asks, and Tony smiles down at her.

“No, she’s just a little fussy.”

Nuru nods somberly at that, every inch the queen she will be someday. “Well, I missed you,” she announces. “You were in ‘merica forever!”

Tony chuckles and Ada gurgles against his chest. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I’ll be sure to tell Pepper that I’m not allowed to go on any trip longer than a day.” It’s impossible, of course, because despite his dual citizenship, SI’s military contracts get a little uncomfortable if the main shareholder and head of R&D spends too much time out of the United States. If it makes Nuru happy, though, he’ll ask Pepper to talk to Obie.

Nuru smiles, satisfied, and T’Challa squeezes her hand. “It is late, _isithandwa_ , you should go back to sleep.”

“Aww, do I have to?” Heir to the throne or no, Nuru is still only four years old, and the whine betrays that.

“Yes,” T’Challa says, gentle but firm. Nuru groans. “And quiet, please. We don’t want to wake up your brother.”

“Too late,” Tonys says, nodding to the doorway. Sipho grins sheepishly at them and shuffles his feet.

“I heard voices,” he says quietly. He holds out his arms, and T’Challa sighs and lifts him up to his hip (two and a half is still young enough to be carried, apparently).

Ada grumbles, and Tony grabs her pacifier. “Sorry, bud. Adannaya was a little grumpy.”

“Which all of you will be tomorrow if you don’t go back to sleep,” T’Challa says sternly. Sipho sticks his thumb in his mouth, a habit they don’t have the heart to train out of him, and blinks at him beatifically. “ _Uyihlo_ has an exhibition in Afghanistan tomorrow, he needs his sleep,” T’Challa tries again, and Nuru frowns as she turns to look at Tony.

“You’re leaving again? You just got back yesterday!”

Tony knows she’s genuinely upset, but her indignation is absolutely adorable, and he smiles down at her. “Don’t worry, _nkosazana_. It’s only a day trip, I’ll be back for dinner.”

Nuru harrumphs. “Fine.”

Tony shares a glance with T’Challa. “I have to leave early in the morning though, so if you want to have breakfast with me, you’ll have to go to sleep right now.”

Nuru and Sipho’s eyes widen. “Oh,” Nuru says and turns to T’Challa. “I’m ready to go to sleep, _Tata_.” Sipho nods his agreement.

“Oh, are you?” T’Challa grins at her. “Well, if you insist.” He flashes a grin at Tony before leading them from the room. Sipho waves a sleepy good-bye and Tony clutches Ada tighter to his chest and feels as if his heart might burst for all the love he feels.

Ada settles down after that, and Tony returns to their bedroom. T’Challa slips back into bed just as Tony’s beginning to doze off and curls up behind him.

“ _Ndiyakuthanda_ ,” he murmurs, a whisper of air against Tony’s bare shoulder. Tony smiles into his pillow.

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Italicized words are Xhosa, which MCU is using as the language of Wakanda. I'm using a couple of different dictionaries, but I'm not 100% certain that any of these translations are accurate, sorry.
> 
> Ikatana: kitten  
> Uyhilo: your father  
> Tata: father  
> Sithandwa: love  
> Nkosazana: princess  
> Ndiyakuthanda: I love you.
> 
> The children:  
> Nuru, age four, “Light” in Swahili  
> Sipho, age two and a half, “Gift” in Xhosa  
> Adanayya, age six months, “Her Father’s Daughter” in Igbo
> 
> Find more IronPanther at our NEW [Imagine IronPanther](http://imagineironpanther.tumblr.com) blog, or come say hi to me on[tumblr!](http://anthonyfuckingstark.tumblr.com)
> 
> As always, comments are absolutely adored.


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